The St. Johns herald., 1887-11-10

disabling the right arm.
 Hearing the noise and thinking it was a fight among the Mexicans, Barney Riggs, a lifetime convict, l rushed out. Seeing the struggle between Gates and Puebla, and still thinking it a fight among the Mexicans and that MT. Gates was endeavoring to separate them, he went to his assistance and was met by a vicious thrust from the knife in the hands of Puebla, Realizing for the first time the true nature of the conflict. he ran first to the house and then to the office, but could get no weapon and was returning empty handed when seeing Lopez lying on the ground, still holding his pistol, he sprang astride of him, wrenched 1t from his clutched hand, and the next moment it's muzzle was against Puebla's breast. AS the hammer fell the latter slowly withdrew the bloody knife and turned partially around, and when Riggs again shot him he sank slow ly to the ground. On being thus freed, Gates staggered for a few paces and fell. He was immediate ly picked up by several onlookiEg convicts and taken to his room in a semi-unconscious state.
 During the melee, one of the con victs, also Mexican, armed with a pick, endeavored to escape by run ming down the hill toward the town, but in doing so, he met Guard Fred ly, who had been in Yuma, and was returning to the penitentiary. Un- deterred by blow over the head with the pick, he grappled with the escape, and most desperate strug gle took place. The Mexican en- deavored to throw him over a twen- ty-foot precipice, but, as he could not rid himself of his captor, both went over the bluff together, and, fortune favoring, they struck the bottom with Freddy on top.
 At the time of the outbreak, Johnny Behan, turnkey, was eating breakfast, and would have been un- conscious of the life and death struggle that was being enacted on the outside, but for a negro con vict-the only man of that race in the institution-who apprised him of it. Snatching yum, he rushed to the scene, and seeing the strug- gle between Freddy and the Mexi- can, was by their side in moment. Fredly, being covered with blood from the blow on the head, had the appearance of being dangerously wounded, and Behan's first impulse was to kill the Mexican, but on be- ing assured by the pluckY guard that he had the best of the encoun- ter, they let him up, and marched him to his old quarters.
 The whole occurrence was the work of but a few moments, and had everything been previously re- hearsed, greater coolness or more nerve could not have been displayed not only by the desperadoes them selves, whose lives had been staked upon the hazard of the die, but of the officers, although taken by sur prise engaged in quelling them.
 Superintendent Gates, while suf- fering from the terrific thrusts of the assassin's knife, and standing within the very shadow of death, coolly ordered the guard to fire, and with a remarkable presence of mind, endeavored to so turn his assailant as to better expose him to the un- erring aim of Hartley, whose every bullet downed a man. MT. Gates wound, while not necessarily fatal, is, to say the least, extremely dan gerous. The blade with which it was inflicted, is four inches long, and the assassin, so bent was he on his destruction, that he used both hands, and so, forced it in till DOT tion of the handle was forced into the flesh, and, not content with this, the brute deliberately twisted the knife around, thus making a most fearful wound.
 n;oI> P11o Snorafarv Of the PriS-